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Considering the misery and constant vigilance needed by gardeners to keep slugs at bay, seeing the light of lightning bugs at night is cause for celebration. Gardeners should have a special day to celebrate lightning bugs for there will be less slugs to chew on garden plants.
Adult lightning bugs don’t eat, but the larvae, called glowworms, do. The larvae need to eat large amounts of food to grow to maturity and slugs are one of their favorites. The larvae inject the slug with a numbing fluid and then eat them. The lightning bug larvae also live in damp areas precisely where slugs predominate.
To attract lightning bugs keep a small, damp woodpile. Slugs like the damp, cool area, but so do the lightning bugs. A female lightning bug deposits her eggs in the ground or in rotting wood or dead leaves on the ground. A small puddle or birdbath would be appreciated as well.
Let a small area of your yard or garden grow tall grass. Lightning bugs sit there during the day.
Stay out of your garden at night. Lightning bugs will leave if there is motion through the garden.
While adult lightning bugs live for only a short time, the larvae will remain all summer to eat the slugs in your garden. These larvae will then become adults to produce the larvae for next summer’s garden of slugs.
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Author Marilyn Pokorney
Copyright Marilyn Pokorney 2021
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